Ben Affleck’s tattoos guide: Photos and meanings behind his ink
Ben Affleck has quite the collection of body art.
There’s no hiding all that ink.
“I actually do have a number of tattoos but I try to have them in places where you don’t have to do a lot of cover up — they get sort of addictive, after a while,” Ben Affleck told “Extra” in 2016.
But since marrying Jennifer Lopez, the “Gone Girl” actor’s not only added a tat dedicated to his wife, but also had some of his other body art showcased in a shirtless Father’s Day snap.
In addition to the infamous multicolored phoenix tattooed across his back, Affleck has a pair of intricate designs on his shoulders, an aquatic animal on his hip and a collection of mysterious letters on his shoulder blade.
Below, a closer look at each of the “Argo” director’s tats and the meaning behind each.
Phoenix
Affleck initially claimed this gargantuan tat was fake — but the truth eventually came out.Crocky / Flightrisk / GOAL / BACKGRID
The actor’s most well-known tattoo is also his largest — and most controversial.
When the public first glimpsed the giant, garish mythological bird inked across his back in 2015, backlash was swift, with Affleck’s current and former exes Jennifer Garner and J.Lo and even his BFF Matt Damon throwing stones.
Lopez called the tat “awful,” while Garner quipped, “You know what we would say in my hometown about that? ‘Bless his heart.’”
“It’s not one man’s job to tell another man what he can do to his back,” Damon said more diplomatically.
While Affleck initially claimed the tattoo was “fake” and for a movie role, he eventually admitted it was the real deal — and went a step further by defending the design.
“It represents something very important to me. It’s meaningful to me,” he told Ellen DeGeneres in 2019. “I like it. It’s something that I sort of kept private, I wasn’t doing photoshoots or whatever. I love my tattoo. I’m very happy with it.”
Tribute to Jennifer Lopez
Affleck added both his and Lopez’s first initials in 2023.jlo/Instagram
It appears Lopez eventually got over her distaste for Affleck’s ink. After marrying (twice) in 2022, the couple cemented their love with complementary tattoos on Valentine’s Day in 2023.
While Lopez’s depicts an infinity sign along with both of their names, Affleck’s shows a pair of crossed arrows punctuated by the pair’s first initials.
Cross
Affleck’s chiseled abs and shoulder tats were front and center in this snap Lopez shared for Father’s Day in 2023.Jennifer Lopez / Instagram
On Affleck’s left shoulder sits a giant cross, originally just a simple outline.
The star later added to the religious ink, with a large floral design framing the centerpiece.
Sword, roses and playing cards
What began as a simple barbed wire tattoo has morphed into a larger piece that includes a sword, playing cards and roses.Columbia/Revolution Studios/Kobal/Shutterstock
Did you really think he’d leave his right shoulder bare?
Affleck has an even more intricate design on the other side that depicts a large sword surrounded by roses, playing cards and a band of barbed wire — the latter of which was the starting point for the piece.
Dolphin
Page Six previously reported Affleck’s dolphin design covered up an ex-girlfriend’s name.GC Images
On his left hip is a simple dolphin, which he’s had for more than 10 years.
Page Six previously reported that the diminutive design covers up the name of a high school sweetheart.
Letters
It’s unclear what this collection of letters means.Binns, Symons, Pacificcoastnews.
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Affleck has “OV” tattooed on his right shoulder blade and encircled by even more mysterious letter groupings: “MOH,” “NON,” “TE,” “TA” and “OR.”
It’s unclear what any of the letters mean, and the entire design has since been covered up by the aforementioned phoenix.
